By the time the door to the visitors’ dressing room in PNC Arena opened, you’d never have known that the Devils clinched a playoff spot tonight, doing it themselves with a victory instead of relying on a loss by another contending club.

“Internally we expected to make the playoffs,” captain Zach Parise said. “But I guess once it’s finally here, it’s a good feeling.”

The manner in which they guaranteed themselves a spot in the postseason, with a 5-0 thrashing of the Carolina Hurricanes, was particularly satisfying to coach Pete DeBoer.

• Martin Brodeur stopped 22 shots for his third shutout of the season and 119th of his career. With 29 victories, he’ll get two more starts (Johan Hedberg will play one of the final three games) to record his 14th 30-win season.

• Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 34th goal and had two assists while Parise, playing in his 499th NHL game, completed the Devils’ scoring with his 31st goal.

• And Petr Sykora notched his 19th in his improbable comeback.

“It was a good night,” said DeBoer, who spoke to the team after the game. “Clarkie’s 30th goal, clinching a playoff spot, contributions from everybody and a shutout.”

DeBoer will coach in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time, having missed in his three seasons with the Florida Panthers.

“It feels good. We talked to the team after. It’s been a long road,” DeBoer said. “A lot of people didn’t pick us to have a playoff spot this year and we have some adversity.

“We got a lot of contributions from different people. It’s step one. Now that we’re in, obviously you want to make some noise. We took a step today to where we want to get to.”

The sixth-place Devils have 96 points with three games remaining in the regular season. While it appears they will be headed for a first-round playoff meeting with the Panthers, the Devils can still catch the fifth-place Philadelphia Flyers (99 points).

“After last year it’s nice to get back there,” Kovalchuk said. “It will be a lot of fun, for sure.”

What did DeBoer say to his players?

“Let’s leave it between us,” Kovalchuk said.

For Brodeur, who turns 40 in May, reaching the playoffs again is important. Missing last year makes it sweeter.

“Oh, 100 percent,” Brodeur admitted. “It was tough. I didn’t think it was going to bother me because we were out so early in the season, but when I started watching a little hockey in the second or third round, I was really missing that atmosphere.

“This year was important for me to go out and try to get in the playoffs. The bottom line is nobody knows what kind of chances you’re going to have. You really have to be happy getting into the playoffs.”

Clarkson’s goal, on a power play with 21.5 seconds left in the first period, was all they needed.